Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas! Has Your New Windows System Crashed Yet?

It's Christmas! And this morning, kids young and old have scrambled downstairs to tear into the gifts lined around the Christmas tree. For some very lucky individuals, Santa may have left a band new laptop or desktop computer. And because Santa's elves have a close working relationship with Microsoft, these computers come with Windows pre-installed. Santa has been trying for years to convince the elves to at least give Linux a try. But they just won't break these old habits. (It took them years to understand they needed to make video games instead of wooden toys!)

This is why Santa left word with me to make sure all these new computers have access to Linux. This is because Santa knows these Windows systems, sooner or later, are going to slow down, catch a nasty virus, or get infected with a piece of spyware. So, if you did receive a new computer from Santa, make sure you go here and download a copy of any of the Linux distributions listed. Burn the ISO file to disc and when you get a chance, pop it into your CD tray and give it a run.

Santa's not saying you should install Linux to your new system right now. Just make sure to hang on to this disk. Because at some point, when Windows refuses to run, you can always boot this disk and retrieve your data before sending your machine off for repairs. At that moment, you'll understand how terrific Linux is.

Then, sometime in the New Year, make sure to get Linux. It'll keep that new computer running better than ever.